So, who edited CIA report on Benghazi?

General Patraeus testified today that he knew Benghazi was a terror attack almost immediately. The initial CIA report INCLUDED that an Al Qaeda linked terror group had carried out the attack. But, someone, edited that report, removing any link to terrorism, and those talking points were then given to U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to repeat on five different Sunday shows. Megyn Kelly interviewed John Bolton, and The Right Scoop has the video

Former Ambassador John Bolton said that General Petraeus’ testimony this morning ‘put this dead cat right on the White House’s door step,” referring to Petraeus’ revelation that the CIA had included that it was a terrorist attack by an Al Qaeda linked group.

Bolton goes on to say that short of evidence to the contrary, the only explanation as to how the talking points on Benghazi were edited to remove references to Al Qaeda and Ansar Al Sharia is that the White House did it. And he says it’s perfectly consistent with the fact that top-level officials in intelligence and the State Department and elsewhere don’t have a clue who wrote the final talking points for Ambassador Rice.

My take is that the president, who was in full campaign mode at the time did not want us to know that Al Qaeda was not as on the run as he was saying on the campaign trail. In other words the White House, in my view, was simply playing politics here. Rice was given a pack of lies to tell, and she did so, whether she did so willingly or not might be argued.